Motorists seeking alternate route damage Hamilton man's land

When Vic Gyarmaty woke up Monday morning, he looked out his house window in Hamilton Township and was shocked.

CHAD SMITH

When Vic Gyarmaty woke up Monday morning, he looked out his house window in Hamilton Township and was shocked.

A procession of cars and trucks was driving on property he owns adjacent to his house.

A fatal crash had shut down the southbound lane of Route 33 in Saylorsburg and the vehicles were escaping the gridlock by driving on Gyarmaty's land and, in the process, tearing up the grass.

Gyarmaty says he would like to see the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation put up a guardrail to prevent motorists from using his property as their private offramp next time Route 33 South is at a standstill.

"I know people were frustrated, but they have to realize that they're driving on someone's property. It's crazy," said Gyarmaty.

Pennsylvania State Police shut down Route 33 South in Saylorsburg for nine hours Monday after a tractor-trailer and an SUV collided on the highway. The SUV's driver was killed. The closure of Route 33 sent thousands of motorists — the lucky ones, the ones who didn't get stuck bumper-to-bumper on the highway — onto smaller area roads looking for an alternate route south.

Gyarmaty said that in the past a few motorists had illegally used his property as a shortcut to Route 33.

"But I've never seen anything like I did on Monday," said Gyarmaty, as he looked at the deep tire tracks that a truck left on his property. Gyarmaty's wife, Lorie, said she is thankful that the family's dogs weren't outside because they could have been run over.

Gyarmaty said he mows this tract of land and uses it as a recreation space sometimes. He says that he may have to pay to repair the grass.

Ronald Young, a spokesman for PennDOT, which is responsible for the maintenance of Route 33, said that PennDOT has offered to install a 3-foot berm, or dirt barrier, at the edge of Gyarmaty's property, near the highway.

"Only a tank or huge truck would be able to get over it," Young said.

PennDOT won't install a guardrail, which the Gyarmatys want, because PennDOT "only puts up guardrail for safety reasons, not access reasons," Young said.

Young said that when huge crashes happen on state roads that tie up traffic, PennDOT tries to get the word as soon as possible via the media and highway message boards so motorists don't end up stuck on highways for hours.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.